Framworks For Gender Analysis

1- Harvard Analytical Framework
Objectives  To demonstrate that there is an economic rationale for investing in women as well as men.
 To assist planners design more efficient projects.
 To emphasize importance of good information as basis for efficient/effective projects.
 To map the work of women and men in the community and highlight differences.
Features 1. Socio Economic Activity profile (looks at who does what, where, when and for how long?)
2. Access and control profile (looks at who has access to and control over resources and benefits)
3. Analysis of influencing factors (looks at other factors that affect the gender differentiations, past and present
influences, and opportunities and constraints)
4. Contains a checklist of key questions to ask at each stage

Best Suited  For project design rather than programme or policy planning.
 As a gender neutral entry point when working with those who might be resistant to looking at gender relations.
 For collecting baseline data.

Strengths  Practical and hands on.
 Collects and organises info about gender division of labour - it makes women’s work visible.
 Distinguishes between access to and control over resources.
 Useful for projects at micro level.
 Can be easily adapted to a range of settings.
 Relatively non-threatening as it is focussed on collecting facts.

Limitations  Needs to be used with another tool to allow idea of strategic gender needs to be identified.
 Focus on projects not programmes.
 Focus on efficiency not effectiveness - does not provide guidance on how to change gender inequalities.
 Top down planning tool that excludes men and woman’s own analysis of their situations.
 Can be carried out in a non-participatory way.
 Tends to over simplify, based on tick box approach
 Ignores other inequalities such as race, class and ethnicity.
 Emphasizes separation of activities based on sex or age - ignores connections and cooperative relations.
2- Gender Planning Framework (Caroline Moser)

Objectives Focus on strategic gender needs and concentrates on gender inequalities and how to address these at programme and policy
level.
Features 1. Gender roles identification - focus on triple roles of women (productive, reproductive and community)
2. Gender needs assessment (practical and strategic needs)

Best Suited  For planning at all levels from policies to projects.
 In conjunction with the Harvard Framework

Strengths  Assumes planning exists to challenge unequal gender relations and support women’s empowerment.
 Makes ALL work visible through concept of triple roles.
 Alerts planners to interrelationships of triple roles.
 Recognizes institutional and political resistance to transforming gender relations.
 Distinguishes between practical gender needs (those that relate to women’s daily life) and strategic gender needs
(those that potentially transform the current situation)
Limitations  Framework does not mention other inequalities like class, race and ethnicity.
 Framework is static and does not examine change over time.
 Looks at separate, rather than inter-related activities of women and men.
 Strict division of practical and strategic needs not always helpful in practise.
 Strategic needs of men not addressed.
3- Social Relations Framework (Naila Kabeer IDS)

Objectives  To analyze gender inequalities in the distribution of resources, responsibilities and power.
 To analyze relationships between people, their relationships to resources and activities and how these are reworked
through institutions.
 To emphasize human well being as the final goal of development.

Features 1. Development is increasing human wellbeing (survival, security autonomy)
2. Social relationship analysis. The way people are positioned in relation to tangible and intangible resources.
3. Institutional analysis Key institutions; state, market, legal, family/kinship. Aspects of institutions; rules, activities,
resources, people, power.
4. Institutional gender policy analysis
5. Analysis of underlying and structural causes and the effects of these.

Best Suited Can be used across all modalities of development delivery from project to policy planning. Can be used at local, national,
regional and international levels.
Strengths  Presents a broader picture of poverty.
 Conceptualizes gender as central to development thinking not an add-on.
 Used at different levels for planning and policy development.
 Links micro and macro analysis.
 Centers analysis on institutions and highlights their political aspects.
 Highlights interactions between inequalities - race, class, and ethnicity.
 Dynamic - works to uncover processes of impoverishment and empowerment.

Limitations  Can appear to be complicated.
 Since it looks at all inequalities - it can subsume gender into other analytical categories.
 Can overlook the potential for people to effect change.
 May give an overwhelming impression of large institutions.
4- Women’s Empowerment Framework

Objectives To achieve women’s empowerment by enabling women to achieve equal control over factors of production and participate
equally in the development process.
Features  Framework introduces five hierarchical levels of equality (the higher you go the more empowered you are)
1. Control
2. Participation
3. Conscientisation
4. Access
5. Welfare
 Framework distinguishes between women’s issues and concerns as well as identifying three levels of recognition of
women’s issues in project design.
Best Suited  Useful across micro (project) and macro (country strategy) levels of analysis.
 Useful where focus is specifically on empowerment of women.

Strengths  Framework can be used to prepare profiles of levels of recognition as well as profiles of analysis of levels of equality
across sectors.
 Develops notion of practical and strategic gender needs into progressive hierarchy.
 Articulates empowerment as essential element of development.
 Enables assessment of interventions based on grounds of empowerment.
 Has a strong political perspective - aims to change attitudes.

Limitations  Assumption of levels of equality is strictly hierarchical is questionable.
 Framework profiles are static and do not take account of changes over time.
 Focus on gender equality only takes no account of interrelationships between rights and responsibilities.
 Ignores other forms of inequality.

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1- Harvard Analytical Framework

4. Contains a checklist of key questions to ask at each stage

 For collecting baseline data.

 Relatively non-threatening as it is focussed on collecting facts.

2- Gender Planning Framework (Caroline Moser)

2. Gender needs assessment (practical and strategic needs)

 In conjunction with the Harvard Framework

 Strategic needs of men not addressed.

3- Social Relations Framework (Naila Kabeer IDS)

 To emphasize human well being as the final goal of development.

5. Analysis of underlying and structural causes and the effects of these.

 Dynamic - works to uncover processes of impoverishment and empowerment.

 May give an overwhelming impression of large institutions.

4- Women’s Empowerment Framework

 Useful where focus is specifically on empowerment of women.

 Has a strong political perspective - aims to change attitudes.

 Ignores other forms of inequality.

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